CHED’s De Vera endorses Legarda
COMMISSION on Higher Education chairman J. Prospero “Popoy” De Vera III has thrown his support for Antique congresswoman and senatorial candidate Loren Legarda as the May 9 elections approach.
On his Facebook page, De Vera explained why he’s backing Legarda, who has been an advocate of education during her time in the Senate.
“Many do not know that even before the passage of RA 10931 (Universal Access to Quality Education law), Senator Loren as Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance was able to realign P8B to CHED in the 2017 GAA so 800,000 students in 112 SUCs no longer pay tuition & misc fees,” he said.
“With the passage of RA10931 on August 3, 2017, she worked with House Committee on Appropriations Chair Karlo Nograles to look for the P40B needed to implement the law in 2018. The rest is history.”
De Vera also said that Legarda is a “champion of education,” because thanks to her push for more funds for education, over 1.6 million students go to school with free tuition in over 200 universities.
“With Education Champions like Loren Legarda it can be done. Ibalik natin sa Senado ang isang Kampeon ng Edukasyon!” De Vera concluded.
Following De Vera’s message, Legarda thanked the CHED chairman for his endorsement.
“I always believe that education is the best investment that we can make to alleviate poverty and contribute in economic devt. Bawat batang Pilipino ay may karapatang makapag-aral, makapagtapos, at mangarap para sa mas maginhawang kinabukasan,” she said in her statement posted on Facebook.
“Kaya kaisa ng ating education sector, asahan niyo pong patuloy kong ipaglalaban at isusulong ang karapatan ng mga kabataan para sa maayos at de-kalidad na edukasyon.”
Legarda, an advocate for the environment, women and children’s rights, and entrepreneurship has also been a vocal supporter of education in the country. She has filed the “One Tablet, One Student” bill allowing each child to have their own tablet as a tool for their studies at the height of the pandemic and has pushed the importance of culture and the arts in her visits to pay tribute to Filipino artisans.
Legarda has also previously had dialogues with teachers, promising more help to raise their salaries and needs once she returns to the Senate.
